Press Release
HIV Vaccine Study First to Show Some Effectiveness in Preventing HIV 
24 September 2009—A Phase III clinical trial involving more than 16,000 adult volunteers in Thailand has demonstrated that an investigational HIV vaccine regimen was safe and modestly effective in preventing HIV infection. According to final results released by the trial sponsor, the U.S. Army Surgeon General, the prime boost combination of ALVAC? HIV and AIDSVAX? B/E lowered the rate of HIV infection by 31.2% compared with placebo.
In the final analysis, 74 placebo recipients became infected with HIV compared to 51 in the vaccine regimen arm. The efficacy result is considered statistically significant with a 95% confidence interval greater than zero. The vaccine regimen had no effect on the amount of virus in the blood of volunteers who became HIV-infected during the study.
This is the first time that an HIV vaccine candidate has reduced the risk of HIV infection in humans. This finding has important implications for the design of future HIV vaccines and how they are tested, however the public health benefits are unclear and require further study. In addition, the data show that the vaccine regimen is safe.
Collaborating partners on this study, referred to as RV144, include the U.S. Army, the Thai Ministry of Public Health, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, Mahidol University, The Royal Thai Army, AFRIMS-Thai component, sanofi pasteur, and Global Solutions for Infectious Disease (GSID). The collaborators are already working with external experts to determine the need for additional studies on this vaccine regimen.
The U.S. Army Medical Component – Armed Forces Research Institute of Medical Sciences (USAMC-AFRIMS), a special foreign activity of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) in Washington, D.C. and of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC), helped to execute the trial in Thailand on behalf of the Sponsor. With enthusiastic support from the US Ambassador to Thailand, this successful vaccine trial is another example of long–standing, productive collaboration between US and Thai military and civilian scientists to conduct basic and applied research on infectious diseases of global health and military importance.
The U.S. Army would like to thank the more than 16,000 Thai men and women who consented to participate in this trial and the efforts of the Thai Ministry of Public Health and all collaborators for their hard work in achieving this important milestone.
Phase III HIV Vaccine Trial Background
The Thai Phase III clinical vaccine trial (RV 144) tested a prime boost vaccine strategy that combined two vaccines based on strains (subtypes) of HIV that circulate in Thailand. The first, or “prime” vaccine, known as ALVAC HIV, was developed by sanofi pasteur and the booster vaccine, AIDSVAX B/E, was originally developed by VaxGen and is now licensed to Global Solutions for Infectious Diseases.
The study, which began in 2003, was designed to test the vaccine strategy’s ability to prevent HIV infection, as well as its ability to reduce the amount of HIV in the blood of those who became infected after they enrolled in the study.
More than 16,000 HIV-negative men and women between the ages of 18 to 30 participated in the study; half of these participants received the prime-boost vaccine regimen and half received placebo. Volunteers received vaccinations over the course of six months, and were followed for an additional three years. Before agreeing to participate, all volunteers were informed of the potential risks associated with receiving the experimental vaccine regimen used in this study and consented to participate in the study. Volunteers continued to receive an HIV test every six months for three years following vaccination, in addition to counseling on how to prevent becoming infected with HIV.
For additional information regarding the trial, visit www.hivresearch.org
Media inquiries can be directed to Tawn Chatchavalvong of Hill &Knowlton, Thailand at +66 (2) 6273501 ext. 118 or tchatchavalvong@th.hillandknowlton.com.
On September 16, 2009, the U.S. Ambassador Eric G. John; MG Krisada Duangurai,
the Director General, AFRIMS; together with COL James W. Boles, Commander, USAMC-AFRIMS officiated the ribbon cutting ceremony opening the AFRIMS Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) Laboratory. RTA-AFRIMS and USAMC-AFRIMS have worked shoulder to shoulder for over 48 years and have played a significant role in the development of vaccines and drugs currently in use worldwide such as Hepatitis A, Japanese Encephalitis, and Malaria. This BSL-3 Lab is a significant contribution to AFRIMS, it is the first and only one in SE Asia which meets strict US Department of Army safety standards. The BSL-3 Lab is very important as it expands AFRIMS capacity to conduct research and assist with outbreaks of BSL-3 level agents such as Chikungunya and other biological agents located throughout SE Asia. The ceremony ended with a brief tour and a celebratory cake, dessert and refreshments reception attended by many AFRIMS employees.
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Department of Enteric Diseases, AFRIMS, held a workshop on “Laboratory Diagnosis for Diarrheal Diseases Surveillance: 20-21 August 2009
Department of Enteric Diseases, AFRIMS, held a workshop on “Laboratory Diagnosis for Diarrheal Diseases Surveillance” on 20-21 August 2009 at Century Park Hotel, Bangkok.
The workshop aimed to enhance laboratory capability for the identification of enteric pathogens and to exchange experience and knowledge among the participants. This is part of the collaboration between the Department of Medical Sciences, Ministry of Public Health and the Department of Enteric Diseases, AFRIMS, for ongoing diarrheal diseases surveillance effort at multiple sites in Thailand. Participants were senior scientists from the Department of Medical Sciences, medical microbiologists and laboratory technicians from the Regional Medical Science Centers and participating hospitals in Chiang Rai, Trang, Suratthani, Nakhonratchasima, Phitsanulok, Samutsongkram and Nakornsawan.
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Dr. John L. VandeBerg and his Team visit AFRIMS: September 7, 2009
John L. VandeBerg, Ph.D. is Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) of the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR), Director of the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC), Scientist in the Department of Genetics at SFBR, and Professor of Pathology and of Cellular and Structural Biology at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSC-SA)
Dr. VandeBerg’s research interests are focused on genetic and environmental factors that influence risk for common chronic diseases and parasitic diseases. He works with nonhuman primate and marsupial models, as well as cell cultures and human subjects. He is currently investigating the genetics of susceptibility to coronary heart disease, the genetic basis of susceptibility to disease progression in Chagas disease (caused by infection with Trypanosoma cruzi), and aspects of UV-radiation induced cancers in opossums as well as human cancers transplanted into opossums. Recently, he established a program to develop and test a DNA vaccine for tuberculosis. Dr. VandeBerg has authored or co-authored more than 300 scientific articles and book chapters.
Dr. VandeBerg is recognized for his pioneering work in developing a small marsupial, the gray short-tailed opossum from South America, as a standard laboratory animal now used extensively as a model for research on human diseases, developmental biology, and evolutionary biology. He and his colleagues also have developed a unique pedigreed colony of baboons which are genotyped at 300 microsatellite marker loci and used extensively for whole genome scans of physiological characters related to human diseases.
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